Ross Brawn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ross Brawn in the pit lane at the 2003 USGP.

Ross Brawn is a British engineer, best known for his role as the technical director of Scuderia Ferrari, the Ferrari company's Formula One constructor, from 1996 to 2006. His biggest role has often been perceived to be planning and executing the team's race strategies, which have often allowed Michael Schumacher to take surprising wins.

Brawn was born November 23, 1954 in Manchester, Lancashire, England and attended Reading School in Reading, Berkshire, England. In the early 1970s, Brawn was taken on as a trainee engineer by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at their Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, Oxfordshire, where he studied instrumentation. His career in motorsport began in 1976, when he joined March Engineering in the town of Bicester as a milling machine operator. Soon thereafter he joined their Formula 3 racing team as a mechanic. Brawn was hired by Sir Frank Williams in 1978 as a machinist for the newly-formed Williams F1 team. He quickly moved up through the ranks, working in the R&D department and as an aerodynamicist in the team's wind tunnel.

Ross Brawn at the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix.

After brief stints with the now-defunct FORCE/Beatrice and Arrows Formula 1 teams, Brawn's efforts caught the attention of Jaguar, which hired Brawn in 1989. He began work in their sports car racing division, bringing as much F1 technological experience as he could, and succeeded in designing the Jaguar XJR-14 cars which won the 1991 World Sportscar Championship. Later that year, Brawn returned to F1 as technical director of the Benetton team, helping them win back-to-back World Drivers' Championships in 1994 and 1995 with Michael Schumacher, and to take the World Constructors' Championship in 1995.

Ross Brawn followed Schumacher to the Ferrari F1 team in 1996. After a few "rebuilding" years, he (as Ferrari technical director) helped Ferrari regain glory when the team won the Constructors' Championship in 1999, the first of six consecutive titles. The Brawn-guided Scuderia also powered Schumacher to five consecutive drivers' titles, from 2000 to 2004. Brawn's contributions to this unprecedented string of uninterrupted titles has led many to label him as a vital member of the Ferrari "dream team" along with Schumacher, team principal Jean Todt and chief designer Rory Byrne. In 2005, Ferrari never quite found form, and had to relinquish the title to Renault, while Schumacher passed the crown to Fernando Alonso. Alonso beat Schumacher again in 2006 although the Ferrari was by all accounts the fastest car towards the end of the season.

On 26 October 2006 Ferrari announced that Brawn was to leave the team. It is believed that he will take a one year sabbatical, to allow other members of the Ferrari technical departments to advance within the team. Recent report suggest Ross will be in touch with the Ferrari management team after six months of his one year break to evaluate his potential return to the team, and possibly more managerial role in 2008. ^[1]

Brawn, married to Jean, has 2 daughters, Helen and Amy. They live in Henley-on-Thames, although Brawn himself, understandably spent much of his on-season time near the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, fishing, and listening to some music.